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Jt ► i y POPE OF THE PEOPLE- (Continued From Page 2) munion to a group of working class youths. On many occasions he has shown his personal humility and concern for other people’s feel ings. Once he admitted before some 100,000 people that he doesn’t enjoy sitting on the por table throne called the sedia gestatoria. “I would be most happy to walk on foot like everybody else,” he stated. ‘‘Then I think that if I went on foot, no one would be able to see me, and therefore I use it (the sedia) as an exercise of mortification.” On another occasion he told the captain of the papal gendar merie, ‘‘Captain, you are a big ger noise than I am, because I was only a sergeant.” The announcement of the ecu menical council was made on January 26, 1959, to 17 cardi nals who attended ceremonies commemorating the conversion of St. Paul. Pope John at the same time announced a synod for the Diocese of Rome. Wearing the Triple Tiara of the papacy, His Holiness Pope John XXIII, following the ceremony of his coronation, Nov. 4, 1958, gives the papal blessing, “Urbi et Orbi,” from the balcony of St. Peter’s basilica to the thousands of faithful below. First public speech of his pontificate appealed to leaders of nations to work for peace in world, the sub ject of his great encyclical, Pacem in Terris. Pope Of Many Surprises He Shattered Traditions, Established Precedents Church Problems Pope John has stressed in addresses that the main pro blems facing the Church are persecution, the communist danger, the spread of atheism, the tepid attitude of many Ca tholics, the reunion of the East ern churches with Rome and the reorganization of the Church to meet modern conditions. In the first public speech of his pontificate he appealed to the leaders of nations to work for peace. Early in the first year of his reign, Pope John ruled, through an official ‘‘admoni tion” issued by the Holy Of fice, that it would be sinful for Catholics to vote for any politi cal candidate, communist or not, known to support commun ists or their activities. The ruling complemented and stiff ened the Holy Office ruling of 1949 which excommunicated communists and those who sup port communism. The Pope’s first encyclical, ‘‘Ad Petri Cathedram” (To the Chair of Peter), was issued on June 29, 1959. It invited sep arated Christians to return to the Catholic Church, and ap pealed for renewed efforts for peace in the world. On August 1 of the same year the second encyclical was is sued, “Sacerdotii Nostri Pri- mordia” (From the Beginning of Our Priesthood). It com memorated the centenary of the death of St. John Vianney and dealt with the priestly life. The third encyclical, ‘ ‘Grata Recordatio” (Grateful Memo ry), was published on Septem ber 26, 1959. It urged Catho lics to pray the Rosary in Oc tober for five intentions; gui dance of the Pope, the success of missionaries and the Chris tian apostolate, peace among nations, the success of the Ro man Synod and the success of the Second Vatican Council. Almost as if he were hurry ing to lay the foundations of his pontificate, Pope John issued still another encyclical in 1959, ‘‘Princeps Pastorum” (Prince of Shepherds). It urged increas ed recruiting and training of priests and lay missioners, and called on Catholics in mission areas to play an active part in public life. The Pope’s own vital interest in the missions was demon strated in two ways: On Holy Thursday, 1959, he got down on his knees in performing Holy Week rites to wash the feet of 13 missionary priests, and in May, 1960, he consecrated 14 missionary bishops in St. Peter’s basilica. On October 11, 1959, Pope (Continued On Page 6) (N.C.W.C. News Service) Pope John XXIII has been a man of many surprises. He not only broke traditions, he es tablished many precedents, and even reinstated old customs that had fallen into disuse. Although many of the changes he brought about were private or personal things, he did not hesitate to revise or even dis pense with ages-old protocol. He felt that each pope should be free to establish new cus toms of his own. Immediately following his election as pope on October 28, 1958, Angelo Cardinal Ron- calli delved into history and chose John for his name. Al though a name most chosen by popes, it had not been used for more than 600 years. The fact that it was last used by a false pope did not deter him from his choice. One of the first customs he dispensed with was the tra dition that the pope should eat alone. His immediate predeces sor Pius XII had rigidly ad hered to this custom. Some other popes on special occas ions had shared their food with relatives, but usually they were seated at a separate table. Pope John’s previous experience as a diplomat and his genial nature were opposed to his eating alone. ‘‘I tried it for one week and I was not comfortable,” he said. ‘‘I searched through Sacred Scripture for something saying I had to eat alone. I found noth ing, so I gave it up and it’s much better now.” Early in his pontificate, Pope John chose to waive traditional rules. He made frequent use of the telephone to call in his aides and ruled that his close assis tants need not genuflect and kiss his ring every time they came into his presence. This traditional sign of reverence shown to popes he limited to their first and last visits of the day. It saved time, he said. The day after his election as pope, he made an impromp tu tour of the Vatican terri tory, one of many to follow. The Vatican radio station, the Vatican garage, the printing plant of L’Osservatore Romano and Vatican Polyglot Press, the barracks of the Swiss Guards, the Vatican Museum and Library, and even the car pentry shop, chatting informally with the workers. His curiosity took him into every corner of the Vatican. One result of such inspection was Pope John’s decision to in crease the wages of the 3,000 employees of the Vatican. In his formula to bring financial equity to them, he decreed that the man who received the small est pay and yet supported the greatest number of chil dren was granted the greatest increase. In his first Christmas as pope, he made a surprise visit to the Regina Coeli Prison in Rome. It was the first papal visit to a jail since Pope Pius. IX, who visited them every Christmas during his pontif icate (1846 to 1878). ‘'Youcould not come to see me so I have come to see you,” he told the inmates. The following day he dropped into Rome’s Child Jesus hospital to cheer the sick chil dren there. Three week’s later he ‘‘disappeared” from his Vat ican office and made an unan nounced visit to a home for re tired and infirm priests. This and many other unexpected de partures from the Vatican lim its, without informing Rome police, as required by the Vat ican Concordat, gave security officials much concern. It was finally settled by stationing two motorcycle escorts at the exit of the Pope’s palace to escort him, whether he desired it or not. On one occasion he insisted on visiting Rome's tough Tras- tavere section to give Com munion to a group of working class youth. On another oc casion he made an unscheduled stroll through downtown Rome on his way to address some 5,000 seminarians at St. Igna tius Church. In all, it is said he went outside the Vatican at least 150 times. In September, 1960, he made a motor trip of 50 miles from his summer residence at Cas- telgandolfo to the Benedictine Abbey at Subiaco. This was ec lipsed by his first railroad trip as pope. On October 4, 1962 he made a 400-mile journey from the Vatican City railroad station to two of Italy’s famous shrines—at Loreto and Assisi. There he prayed for the suc cess of the coming ecumeni cal council. It marked the long est trip any pope has taken away from the Vatican in 105 years. The tradition-breaking pope is noted also for reviving other papal traditions. He revived an ancient custom of 200 years when as Bishop of Rome he personally led on foot the sta- tional procession to the church es of Rome during Lent. He of ten expressed his dislike of pomp, expecially at being car ried aloft in the sedia gesta toria, the portable papal throne. When Vatican officials insisted on doing so, Pope John offered it as an exercise in mortifica tion. As for his precedent shatter ing, early in his pontificate he decided that during his after noon walks in the Vatican Gar dens he was not to be alone. He told the gardeners and main tenance crew to continue their work. On occasion he even in sisted that two or three car dinals walk with him. When asked by officials if they should continue the custom of closing the Vatican roof to tourists during such walks, Pope John replied:‘‘Let the roof stay open while I’m out. Iprom- ise not to give any scandal to tourists.” Although at times a tradi tionalist, he was often an in novator. For use during his summer walks he introduced a new papal style—the wear ing of a white, widebrimmed hat and red Morocco leather shoes. For winter wear he re vived the use, for the first time in more than 60 years, of the camauro. This tight-fitting, red velvet cap trimmed with white fur covers the back of the head and ears. It is used on non-liturgical occasions. In April, 1959, Pope John, in Holy Thursday ceremonies at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, revived the ancient custom of personally washing the feet of 13 clerics, in memory of Christ’s washing the feet of the Apostles. In January 1959, Pope John announced his intention of con voking a general ecumenical council of the Church, the first in 90 years. It opened on Oc tober 11, 1962. Perhaps the most important event in the government of the (Continued On Page 8) Pontiff Makes Last Lenten Church visit—Thousands of Roman citizens lined the streets and filled balconies as His Holiness Pope John XXIII made his last Lenten Sun day visit by automobile to a Rome church. This time (Palm Sunday) the Bishop of Rome visited the church of St. Tarciscus on the way to Naples. (NC Photos) The Southern Cross, June 8, 1963—PAGE 3 Climaxed By Pacem In Terris Impassioned Feeling Marked Pope John’s Pleas For Peace Signs Encyclical on Peace—His Holiness Pope John XXIII affixes his signature to the latest papal encyclical, ‘‘Pacem et Terris” (Peace on Earth), in an unusual cere mony that emphasized the importance he attached to his first encyclical devoted ex clusively to the theme of peace. (N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE) World peace was a constant and ardent prayer of Pope John XXIII. He made impassioned pleas for peace in all his Christ mas messages to the world. He renewed this appeal with deep feeling on more than 30 other occasions: in audiences, on the radio and in solemn documents. As early as October 29,1958, one day after his election as pope in the first public ad dress of his pontificate, he called upon the world’s rulers to hear and make positive re ply to the appeals of their peo ple for peace. On that occasion he asked the rulers of all nations: ‘‘Why should not discords and disa greements be finally .composed equitably? Why should the re sources of human genius and the riches of the peoples turn more often to preparing arms— pernicious instruments of death and destruction—than to in creasing the welfare of all classes of citizens, and parti cularly the poorer classes?” The first public, reply from a chief of state to Pope John’s first appeal for peace came from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a letter sent through his personal represen tatives to the coronation cere monies, Gen. Eisenhower de clared: "I share with you the fervent desire for a peaceful solution of the momentous pro blems which beset mankind.” In his first Christmas mes sage to the world, delivered over Vatican Radio on De cember 23, 1958, Pope John pleaded for efforts toward peace by men of good will and called for Christian unity in the face of men of ill will. Again early in his pontificate, Pope John in his first Easter Message (March 28, 1959) re minded the world’s rulers of their great responsibility to work for peace. ‘‘We offer a prayer that peace, the daughter of gentleness and goodwill, may establish a lasting rule among nations, made over anxious by the clouds which repeatedly darken the horizon. We pray for the heads of states, joined with Us in recognizing that their high calling establishes them not as judges, but as guides of the nations.” In the first encyclical letter of his pontificate, Pope John pleded for Christian unity and sounded a warning of the uni versal devastation that would result from nuclear war. The letter, dated June 29, 1959, and entitled Ad Petri Cathedram (At the Chair of Peter) declar ed that “God created men not as enemies but as brothers. He gave them the earth to be cul tivated by their toil and energy, so that each and every one might take from it its fruits and whatever should be neces sary for his sustenance and gen eral needs in life.” Peace and concord among na tions was one of five intentions for which Pope John asked the faithful to recite the Rosary during the month of October. In his encyclical of September 26, 1959, Grata Recordatio (Grateful Memory), he urged prayers that ‘‘the men respon sible for the destinies of nations great and small. . .may atten tively assess the serious duty of the present hour.” On December 6, 1959, Pope John received in audience President Eisenhower, who was on an international good will tour. Speaking in English, the Pope told him he rejoiced to see the American nation striving ‘‘toward the lofty ideals of a loyal and effective concord be tween nations.” * ‘The Catholic Church, whose constant yearning is the estab lishment of true peace between peoples, cannot but greet with joy every sincere effort directed toward that end and wish it the most consoling suc cess,” he said. In the second Christmas mes sage of his pontificate, Pope John admonished: ‘‘No peace will have solid foundations unless hearts nourish the sen timent of brotherhood which ought to exist among all who have a common origin and are called to the same destiny. . . The basis of international peace is, above all, truth.” When he addressed the lead ers jf Pax Christi, international Catholic peace organization, on April 19, 1960, he told them tuat peace had been and would continue to be a dominant theme in all his speeches and personal contacts. He predicted that the forth coming ecumenical council would contribute to world peace by giving an indication of the spirit of unity and fraternity which is increasing in the life of the Church. Whether it was a group of workers, or educators, or Olympic athletes, or delegates to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization conference# his admonition was always that they work for human brotherhood and peace. In his third Christmas mes sage to the world, December 22, 1960, Pope John pleaded for a fidelity to truth in the cause of world peace. “The evermore grave news of the storms which rage over some parts of the world, and threaten not only the social order, but more im portant, many souls. . .moves Us to direct a word to those who have the highest responsibili ties in the public and social sphere,” to remind them ‘‘to act honorably in these days of general danger.” In his great social encyclical Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher), May 15, 1961, was a plea for cooperation on a world scale and help for the under developed nations. He deplored the lack of trust among nations. Those who seek to bring peace to others must first know peace within themselves, declared Pope John at the Vatican on July 26, 1961, when he address ed members of the third inter national pilgrimage of Pax Christi. “It is certainly your duty to show in your lives a beautiful application of the words of Jesus ‘beati pacifici’ (blessed are the peacemak ers).” On September 10, 1961, Pope John XXIII, in a radio address to the world made a strong appeal for justice and peace based on reason rather than force. He warned of the frightful effect of new weapons and called upon the rulers of nations to “face squarely the tremendous re sponsibilities they bear before the tribunal of history and the judgement seat of God.” These sentiments the pope repeated at the opening (Novem ber 6, 1961) of the second meet ing of the Central Preparatory Commission of the Second Vati can Council. He reminded the commission that many people were worried about world con ditions and again called for peace. Three days earlier he had issued another peace plea when he received delegates from 67 nations attending cere monies marking his birthday and coronation anniversaries. Two weeks later, he told delegates to the 11th conference of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome: “To day’ s world is aspiring to great ends—peace and bread. . .One may say that the first implies Ithe other.” In his bull, Humanae Salutis, [(December 24, 1961) convoking the Second Vatican Council, Pope John said: “Finally, to a world lost, confused and anxi ous under the constant threat of new frightful conflicts, the forthcoming council is called upon to offer an opportunity for all men of good will to turn itheir thoughts and their inten sions toward peace.” The following day in his ser mon at the Christmas Midnight Mass he told the diplomats pre sent of his wish that all peoples be assured of “the incompara ble blessing of peace.” He said “it is obviously not a question of just any kind of peace,” and that the Church “loves peace that is based on justice.” Pope John, in his Christmas radio message to the world (Dec. 21, 1961) and again (De cember 28) in his remarks at the annual reception of the dip lomats accredited to the Holy See warned the rulers of the world of their responsibility before God and men. "The judgment of history will be severe with those people who neglect to do everything in their power in order to remove the scourge of war from humanity,” he said. Delegates of the Association of Jurists of the U.S.A., holding a European conference organi zed by the Special Committee for World Peace Through Law, were told by Pope John (April 4, 1962) that “relations among nations, like those among peo ple, cannot be governed by force, but must be regulated by juridical norms in con formity with reason and founded upon universal and immutable moral principles without which peace cannot exist among states.” Pope John’s concern “over the problem of the threat to peace” was again voiced in his Easter Message of April 22, 1962. “A harmoinous effort by everyone is the only hope for the preservation of peace where it already exists; and where it does not exist, everything po ssible must be done to remove whatever is endangering its foundations,” he declared. At a general audience in St. Peter’s basilica on May 30 he warned that without God’s help, “still more bloody battles and still deeper sorrows could come. . .a conflict which could annihilate all the good that hu manity possesses,” he said. A few days later (June 3) he again appealed for an end to the slaughter in Algeria and voiced his profound sorrow over the strife there. “Let the rule of law prevail in mutual charity. May the day of peace soon dawn for all those regions.” One month later (July 3,1962) when he received President An tonio Segni of Italy, Pope John said: “All nations of the world, all honest and open souls are invited to cooperate in the great undertaking of building, not ma terial weapons of destruction, but of fashioning the world in the light and constant brilliance of the eternal principles of Christian order.” On September 7, 1962, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was received at the Vatican by Pope John. Johnson was on a visit to six countries to con solidate the peaceful aims of the U.S. and promote closer cooperation among nations. His efforts were praised by the Pope who told him of his own “solicitudes, encouragements and paternal insistence in favor of the great cause of peace.” He added that he prayed daily for “those who bear the greater responsibilities in the govern ment of nations, so that their minds and hearts may always be aware of the delicate re sponsibility they have before the Divine Law and the just expec tations and aspirations of the great human family.” When the world was on the brink of nuclear war, Pope John, in a surprise broadcast, Octo ber 25, 1962, warned of the horrors of a nuclear war and begged the political leaders to keep negotiating towards peace. Only one day earlier a * ‘quaran tine” ordered by U.S. Presi dent Kennedy against the deliv ery of offensive weapons to Cuba had gone into effect, and Soviet Premier Khrushchev had declared that any U.S. attack on Soviet shipping meant nuclear war. At the same time troops of communist China were ad vancing into northern India. “Let them do everything in their power to save peace,” the Pope urged world leaders. “By so doing they will spare the world the horrors of a war that would have disastrous conse quences such as nobody could foresee. . .Let them continue to negotiate. . .at all levels and at all times.” Pope J ohn’s extraordinary broadcast for peace soon had fruitful results. For on Octo- (Continued On Page 6)